Northern Ireland

Housing body rejects £21,000 compensation claim over Belfast bonfire damage

The bonfire last year which caused damage to Victoria Place flats near Sandy Row in Belfast
The bonfire last year which caused damage to Victoria Place flats near Sandy Row in Belfast The bonfire last year which caused damage to Victoria Place flats near Sandy Row in Belfast

THE Housing Executive has rejected a £21,000 claim for compensation over damage caused to a Belfast apartment block by a loyalist bonfire.

A liability claim was made against the public housing body after a bonfire built on its land caused damage to Victoria Place flats near Sandy Row.

Windows were cracked and shattered as a result of heat from the Eleventh Night pyre in July last year.

Shocked residents described how the towering inferno toppled towards their building as they looked on from inside.

The bonfire was also at the centre of controversy before last year's Twelfth after The Irish News revealed Belfast City Council had been storing pallets for the pyre at ratepayers' expense. The Housing Executive (NIHE) helped in their storage by providing two skips at a cost of £700.

In September last year, it emerged that a claim was being made against the Housing Executive (NIHE) to compensate for the the repair bill following the bonfire damage.

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But, after eight months of deliberations, the Housing Executive (NIHE) decided in May to reject the claim, the housing body has confirmed in a Freedom of Information response.

In a statement, an NIHE spokesman said: "Our decision to reject the claim is because we do not accept that legal liability attaches to us in the circumstances."

The claim was for a total of £21,092.62.

A total of 22 apartments were affected by the bonfire damage, and repairs involved replacing window parts such as rubber gaskets and installing new double-glazing.

At the time the Belfast-based property management agency for the building, MB Wilson & Co, said insurers were arranging the repairs and it understood the insurers may "seek to be recompensed for the costs incurred".

MB Wilson & Co did not respond when asked about the public liability claim being rejected.

Although the claim has been rejected, the Housing Executive has paid out compensation in other cases over the years for damage caused by bonfires on its land.

Since 2013 more than 30 public liability claims have been made and NIHE settled in five cases, paying out almost £3,000 in taxpayers' cash.

Two claims have been submitted in relation to bonfires earlier this year, but both have yet to be decided upon.

One is for £500 after damage was caused to a hedge and fence at Stevensons Avenue, Moygashel in Co Tyrone.

And a further £500 claim has been submitted following damage to guttering, fascias and soffits at Oakwood Road, Carrickfergus.

This year, bonfire issues in July centred on two contentious east Belfast pyres which were dismantled due to safety fears.

Masked contractors flanked by police in riot gear cleared the bonfire sites at Bloomfield Walkway and Cluan Place before the Eleventh Night.

Stormont's Department for Infrastructure and Belfast City Council are to share the bill for the operation, but are refusing to disclose how much it cost.